
You already have the perfect domain name for your website and you already have your products ready to sell, but your customers are not buying because your site is not secure. For your site to be secure you need to have an SSL certificate .
What is an SSL certificate?
“SSL” is short for “Secure Sockets Layer.” In simpler terms, it’s how small businesses communicate with customers so they can search, purchase products or services, and securely share information with you online. Without getting overly technical, adding an SSL creates a secure connection for those types of activities.
SSL is the backbone of a secure site that protects sensitive information as it travels across the world’s computer networks. SSL is essential for protecting websites, even if they don’t handle sensitive information like credit cards. Provides privacy, critical security and data integrity for your websites and your users’ personal information.
Before you quickly dismiss your site as “too small to be targeted,” keep in mind that most interceptions are done electronically without a human deciding who is attacked.
No site is too small to be hacked.
Hackers have one goal, and that is to find vulnerabilities. Once discovered, his dirty work begins.
How the SSL certificate works
An SSL certificate works to create an encrypted connection between your visitor’s browser and the server. A secure session is established through a “handshake” process, which involves a back-and-forth between the web browser and the web server, all without interrupting the shopping or browsing experience.
Does your website need an SSL certificate?
Accept payment securely
Do you want to put your customers at risk and have their credit card information stolen while shopping on your site?
Some online store and shopping cart programs come with an integrated secure payment system. In these cases, a third party handles the credit cards or provides another online payment method. If this applies, your small business may not need the additional protection of an SSL for your checkout page.
However, there are other reasons to add an SSL:
Protect passwords
One of the main reasons you may want to add an SSL certificate to your website is if any of your pages are password protected. This includes WordPress or Joomla! or other database-driven sites with a login page for the administrator.
Membership sites with multiple logins also create more opportunities for black hat hackers to attack.
The web is full of bots lurking around looking for poorly protected password pages to give them access to your website. You don’t want to log in only to find that your pages have been deleted or deleted.
Secure all web forms
Not everyone collects money online. Some websites collect information. These could be potential leads. Or questionnaires about your client’s employment history. Or something. If you’re collecting even the most basic information, such as name, address, phone number, and email address, your customers probably don’t want that information leaked.
Without an SSL certificate, some types of form mail can be intercepted. Some code is more reliable than others. Do you want to take the risk that yours is susceptible to hacking?
This is why securing your online forms with an SSL certificate is also a must. You wouldn’t do business with someone who skipped this step. Don’t give anyone this reason not to do business with you.